Paperboard chair



April 4, 1967 TOM SUZUKI PAPERBOARD CHAIR .Filed Aug. 19, 1965 United States Patent 3,312,503 PAPERBOARD CHAIR Tom Suzuki, San Diego, Calif., assignor to Frank T. Ige, Los Angeles, Calif. Filed Aug. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 480,923

2 Claims. (Cl. 297442) This invention relates to a chair and, more particularly, relates to a chair made of suitably stiff sheet material such as relatively stiff cardboard or corrugated paperboard.

It is well known that one or more blanks of cardboard or the like may be shaped for folding to form a chair of substantial strength at a relatively low cost. Such a chair may be designed for a toy or may be designed for use by an adult. Because the cost is so low, such a chair may be constructed for only a brief period of use, for example use on a camping trip, the chair being discarded after the brief use.

One problem to which the invention is directed is to simplify the construction of such a chair to minimize both the material cost and the cost of fabrication. In general, chairs of this type as heretofore fabricated employ blanks of complicated configurations and usually the fabrication procedure is a time-consuming operation.

The present invention meets this problem by employing two blanks of simple configuration, each of which is divided by transverse fold lines or creases into a simple linear series of interconnected panels. One of the two blanks forms what may be termed the support structure that includes the back and sides of the chair. The other blank is of rectangular configuration and provides the seat surface and the back rest surface of the chair.

Further simplicity and ease of fabrication is achieved by using tongue-and-slot means to interconnect various panels in the assembly of the chair, both the tongues and slots being formed in the panels themselves. Thus no separate fasteners are required to assemble the chair.

The second problem to which the invention is directed is to provide such a cardboard chair having a large loadbearing capacity. This objective is achieved by providing four vertical panels to support the seat panel of the chair with the four vertical panels spaced and positioned for maximum supporting efliciency. Two of the vertical panels support opposite sides marginal portions of the seat panel and the other two vertical panels converge rearward to support the central area of the seat panel.

A feature of the invention is the concept of making the central convergent vertical support panels of slightly less height than the two side vertical support panels. Thus the convergent panels make contact with the seat panel when the seat panel is centrally flexed downward. It has been found that such an arrangement provides optimum distribution of the load among the four vertical panels and at the same time gives the seat panel a contour that is conducive to the comfort of the user. With the seat resting on the four vertical support panels in this manner, such a chair made from common corrugated paperboard is capable of safely supporting the weight of the average adult.

The features and advantages of the invention may be understood from the following detailed description together with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, which is to be regarded as merely illustrative:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of the preferred embodiment of the invention in assembled state;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken as indicated by the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the chair; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the two blanks of sheet material that make up the chair.

In the preferred practice of the invention the chair is made of corrugated paperboard and is assembled from two blanks which may be of the construction shown in FIG. 4. The first blank, generally designated 10, provides what may be termed thesupport structure of the chair and constitutes a linear series of panels divided by transverse creases or fold lines 12. The panels of this first blank comprise two side panels 14 which form the two opposite sides of the chair, a back panel 15 interconnecting the inner edges of the two side panels and a pair of forward panels 16 connected to the outer edges of the two side panels respectively. The two side panels 14 have upward extensions 18 at their back edges to form portions of the back rest of the chair, each upward extension having an inclined edge 19. When the chair is assembled, the two vertical side panels 14 are substantially perpendicular to the back panel 15 and, as indicated in FIG. 3, the two forward panels 16 converge rearwardly under the central area of the seat portion of the chair with the convergent ends of the panels suitably interconnected.

The second panel, generally designated 20 in FIG. 4, comprises a seat panel 22, a back rest panel 24, a forward flap 25 connected to the seat panel and a rear-ward flap 26 connected to the back rest. A transverse fold line 28 is at the juncture of the two panels 22 and 24, a transverse fold line 30 is at the juncture of the panel 22 and the flap 25 and a fold line 32 is at the juncture of the panel 24 and the flap 26. In addition the forward flap 25 is formed with an intermediate fold line 34 and the rearward flap 26 is formed with an intermediate fold line 35. When the chair is assembled the rearward flap 26 ex tends over the back of the chair and is folded downward at the back of the chair as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the forward panel 26 is folded downward and under as best shown in FIG. 2.

Any suitable provision may be made for interconnecting the convergent ends of the two vertical support panels 16 as well as for connecting the rearward flap 26 to the back panel 15 and for connecting the forward flap 25 to the two convergent panels 16. In the present embodiment of the invention tongue-and-slot connections are provided for this purpose.

FIG. 4 shows two upper slots 40 and shows two corresponding tongues 42 on the rear flap 35 for making interlocking engagement with the two slots. It can be seen that the tongues 42 are wider than their root portions or connections with the rearward flap 26 so that each tongue is formed with a pair of wings 44 that may be bent on fold lines, the fold lines being indicated by dotted lines 45. To insert a tongue 42 into a slot 40, it is necessary to double back the wings 44 and once a tongue is extended through a slot the wings unfold to provide the interlocking engagement.

The forward flap 25 is provided with two tongues 46 for cooperation with corresponding slots 48 in the two convergent panels 16. It is to be noted in FIG. 4 that the tongues 46 are formed by two inclined slots 50 which result in the forward flap 25 having a central portion 52 which tapers to correspond to the angle of convergence of the assembled panels 16 and which abuts the convergent panels 16 in a reinforcing manner as shown in FIG. 3. Each of the tongues'46 is provided with two folda-ble wings 54 to function as heretofore described. In like manner one of the two convergent support panels 16 is provided with a pair of vertical slots 55 and the other of the two convergent support panels 16 is formed with complementary tongues 56 to cooperate in the above described manner.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show how the wings 44 of the tongues 'zontal edges 60 of the side panels 14.

42 engage the forward flap 25 and additionally show how the tongues 54 of the forward flap 25 engages the two convergent panels 16 and how Wings 58 of the tongues 56 engage the convergent panels 16.

It is important to note that the two convergent support panels 16 are of tapered configuration with their upper edges 58 sloping downward from the level of the upper horizontal edges 60 of the side panels 14. Thus when the chair is assembled the upper edges 58 incline to lower levels than the upper horizontal edges 60 of the side panels 14'as may be seen in FIG. 2. When a weight is imposed on the seat panel 22 the seat panel bulges downwardly into contact with the inclined edges 58 of the convergent panels 16.

It is apparent from the foregoing description that the two blanks that form the chair are of simple construction and it is further apparent that assembling the chair from the two blanks is a simple task. First the two side panels 14 are bent to positions perpendicular to the back panel15 and then the two panels 16 are placed in their convergent positions and interconnected by extending the tongues 56 through the slots 55. The second blank 26 is then bent along its transverse fold lines and the tongues 42 of the rearward flap 26 are engaged with the slots 40 of the back panel 15. The back rest panel 24 and the seat panel 22 are then placed in their assembled positions and the forward flap 25 is turned under and its tongues 46 are engaged with the corresponding slots 48 of the convergent panels 16.

It is to be noted that the width of the second blank 20 is greater than the width of the back panel 15 so that both the back rest panel 24 and the seat panel 22 overhang the sides of the chair. Thus the back rest panel 14 abuts the inclined edges 19 (FIG. 2) of upward rearward extensions 18 of the two side panels 14 and the two opposite marginal portions of the seat panel 22 rest on the hori- With the seat panel22 not only supported at its sides by the two vertical side panels 14 but also supported in its central area by the convergent panels 16 and with the convergent panels 16 tapered as described, the weight that is imposed by a seated person is efficiently distributed among the four vertical support panels 14 and 16.

My description in specific detail of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention will suggest various changes, substitutions and other departures from my disclosure within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, the back rest portion of the chair may be omitted, the result being a stool instead of a chair.

I claim:

1. In a chair made of stiff sheet material, the combination of:

two side panels forming the two opposite sides of the chair, said side panels having upward extensions at their rear edges forming parts of the back rest of the chair;

a back panel interconnecting the two side panels;

a pair of support panels connected to the front edges of the side panels respectively and converging rearwardly therefrom;

a back rest panel supported by the upward extensions of the two side panels; and

a seat panel supported adjacent its side edges by the two side panels and supported centrally by the converging support panels,

said pair-of support panels being formed with tongues and slots for mutual engagement at their converging ends, said seat panel having a forward flap, said flap being formed with tongues and said converging support panels being formed with slots to receive the tongues,

said back rest panel being provided with a flap to extend rearward over the back of the chair, said last mentioned flap being formed with tongues and said back panel being formed with slots to receive the tongues, said seat panel, back rest panel and the two flaps constituting a single blank of the sheet material, the remaining panels of the chair constituting asecond blank of the sheet material.

2. A combination as set forth in claim 1 in which the upper edges of the support panels are inclined downward towards their convergent ends to lower levels than the corresponding upper edges of the two side panels to permit the seat panel to flex downward in its central area under an imposed load. 7

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,904,105 9/1959 Holden 297--442 3,126,140 3/1964 Lizan et a1 297442 X 3,149,880 9/ 1964 Steuer 297-440 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

CASMIR A. NUNBERG, FRANCIS K. ZUGEL,

Examiners. 

1. IN A CHAIR MADE OF STIFF SHEET MATERIAL, THE COMBINATION OF: TWO SIDE PANELS FORMING THE TWO OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CHAIR, SAID SIDE PANELS HAVING UPWARD EXTENSIONS AT THEIR REAR EDGES FORMING PARTS OF THE BACK REST OF THE CHAIR; A BACK PANEL INTERCONNECTING THE TWO SIDE PANELS; A PAIR OF SUPPORT PANELS CONNECTED TO THE FRONT EDGES OF THE SIDE PANELS RESPECTIVELY AND CONVERGING REARWARDLY THEREFROM; A BACK REST PANEL SUPPORTED BY THE UPWARD EXTENSIONS OF THE TWO SIDE PANELS; AND A SEAT PANEL SUPPORTED ADJACENT ITS SIDE EDGES BY THE TWO SIDE PANELS AND SUPPORTED CENTRALLY BY THE CONVERGING SUPPORT PANELS, SAID PAIR OF SUPPORT PANELS BEING FORMED WITH TONGUES AND SLOTS FOR MUTUAL ENGAGEMENT AT THEIR CONVERGING ENDS, SAID SEAT PANEL HAVING A FORWARD FLAP, SAID FLAP BEING FORMED WITH TONGUES AND SAID CONVEGING SUPPORT PANELS BEING FORMED WITH SLOTS TO RECEIVE THE TONGUES, SAID BACK REST PANEL BEING PROVIDED WITH A FLAP TO EXTEND REARWARD OVER THE BACK OF THE CHAIR, SAID LAST MENTIONED FLAP BEING FORMED WITH TONGUES AND SAID BACK PANEL BEING FORMED WITH SLOTS TO RECEIVE THE TONGUES, SAID SEAT PANEL, BACK REST PANEL AND THE TWO FLAPS CONSTITUTING A SINGLE BLANK OF THE SHEET MATERIAL, THE REMAINING PANELS OF THE CHAIR CONSTITUTINGA A SECOND BLANK OF THE SHEET MATERIAL. 